UCLA Engineering: UCLA Engineer Fall 2002

2001-02 Highlights

UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science is among the best research and teaching institutions in the world, and is poised for even greater success. Despite its youth and relatively small size, the School has one of the most dedicated and accomplished engineering faculties, as well as students who are among the best in the nation.

The School's research funding level, at more than $421,000 per faculty member, is indicative of the quality of the faculty and research under way at UCLA - research with the potential to touch many lives. Our faculty and students remain committed to conducting research and developing technologies that will strengthen our society.

Growth
The School continues to grow in size. To meet the UC-mandated increase in engineering enrollment, we increased our student population by 30 percent. This growth in enrollment will allow the School to hire 40 additional faculty over the next three years. Last year we recruited eight outstanding individuals to our faculty, and have made six additional appointments this year. Our faculty is expected to grow from 126 members in 1997-98 to 175 by 2005-06.

Interdisciplinary Research and Education
The ever-widening scope of scientific and technological discovery is transforming engineering, dissolving many of the boundaries that divide academic disciplines and creating new opportunities for collaboration.

Three multi-million dollar, long-term, interdisciplinary research centers have been established in the School in the last two years. The California NanoSystems Institute is a joint venture with UC Santa Barbara to develop information, biomedical, and manufacturing technologies at the nanometer scale. The NSF Center for Embedded Networked Sensing will create a new generation of wireless sensing technologies with applications in areas critical to Southern California. The NASA-funded Institute for Cell Mimetic Space Exploration will develop new technologies for the nation's space program by mimicking the self-organizing capabilities of biological systems.

Bioengineering
Building on our strong Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, the School has established a Department of Bioengineering. Earlier this year, the Executive Board of the Academic Senate and the Chancellor approved the formation of a Bioengineering Department within the School.

Applications to the School
This fall, the School will enroll approximately 500 new undergraduate and 300 graduate students, less than 10 percent of those who applied for admission. Applications to the School have risen from 6,546 for fall 1998 admission to 9,016 for fall 2002.